Red Hawk football returns to power offense in Anderson’s head coaching debut

A familiar face is bringing a familiar formation to the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School football program’s offense with the hope of a revived attack.

Paul Anderson knew from the second he accepted the head job for the Red Hawks earlier this year that he was going to go back to a power running offense. It’s an offense he knows well after coaching under longtime G-E-T head coach Jon Steffenhagen — who was recently selected for induction into the state coaches hall of fame — since 2009.

The Red Hawks open the season on Friday at 7 p.m., hosting Mondovi.

“I think hopefully we can get into the playoffs and have a winning record. That’s not necessarily our goal — our goal is to win conference and win every game — but we have the team to do pretty good this year I think,” Anderson said.

As for who will lead that new offense, that has not been decided in a three quarterback race, Anderson told the Times. Seniors Ben Hilton and Will Mack are competing with junior Cody Schmitz for the job.

Hilton spent some time under center last year for a Red Hawk team that struggled to score in a 1-8 season. He finished the year with 637 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions in seven games. Schmitz was a perfect 4-for-4 with 135 yards and a touchdown.

“Each have unique skillsets, so I feel comfortable with all three of them in any game running our offense,” Anderson said of the trio. “So we’ll have to make a decision on who starts game one.”

The Red Hawks boast a class of 18 seniors and a good group of juniors, and the maturity is likely to show from what was a down season in 2021, Anderson thinks. Getting back to a double wing offense should help.

“We’re trying to get back what G-E-T was all about all those years under coach Steffenhagen and get back to that tradition. It’s a huge part of the community, games here. It’s what everybody kind of does on a Friday night here, and I understand the magnitude of my position to withhold that,” he said.

Last year G-E-T attempted more of a spread attack with more passing attempts. This fall, though, it’s going to be about getting back to a double wing formation that features a “pounding” offense, Anderson said.

Three seniors will lead the running back core for G-E-T in Nate Schindler, Warren Stoner and Brady Seiling. Anderson coached all three in this same offense as underclassmen, and he knows they can shine when given the chance.

Schindler led G-E-T in rushing last fall with 388 yards and four touchdowns. Seiling is the only other returning player from last season who had a touchdown in the run game. A scheme change could help Seiling, especially, as he ran for 436 yards and six touchdowns in five games during Steffenhagen’s final season, compared to 201 yards and one touchdown last year.

There will be plenty of rushing yards to go around in the power run game this fall.

“All those years under him (Steffenhagen) I understood that to win, you have to be able to run the ball in high school and control the line of scrimmage,” Anderson said, adding that he still likes passing and will be creative. 

“I’m going to put my own stamp on it,” he said.

Senior Thomas Haney is getting some college looks as a defensive tackle, and Schindler will lead the linebacking core while Seiling and Stoner lead the secondary with Hilton. 

The team’s kicker in Domanick Knott attended the Badger Kicking Camp, so field goals will be a real option inside 20 yards this year for the Red Hawks.

The games still have to be played, but Anderson said he thinks the Red Hawks are in a good spot ahead of their season opener. They will keep pushing, regardless of what comes next, he said.

“I’m feeling really good, but you don’t know until you play. So I keep telling them that, too. We can feel really good about the situation we’re in, but continuous improvement is huge in anything in life and in football, too.”